Rolling mill coupling box support



p 30, 19.52 M. MORGAN ET AL 0mm; MILL. COQPLING BOX SUPPORT Filed Nov. 8, 1947 Nrzzs OSEPH 1 INVENTORS MOII'EGAN .M IOMAKLLE'Y A TTORN EY Se t. 30, 1952 M. MORGAN any I 39 121. 11

ROLLING MILL. couPLmc; .BOX SUPPORT -Filed Nov. 8, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS NHZES MORGAN M M M .r T M a Sept. 30, 1952 M. MORGAN ET AL ROLLING MILL COUPLING BOX SUPPORT Filed NOV. 8, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS MYLE'S MOBG N (yDSEPH OMALLEY A TTORNE Y Patented Sept. 30, 1952 Q I 2,512,271 4 ROLLING MILL COUPLING ox SUPPORT Myles Morgan and Joseph OMalley, Worcester, Mass., assignors to Morgan-Construction 1', Mass, a corporation of Company, Worceste Massachusetts T I Application November 8, 1947, Serial No. 784,802

' 3' Clai'ms. (Cl. 211-4) This invention. relates to rolling mills, and more particularly to the construction. and arrangeinent of an apparatus which will facilitate the changing of rolls in a horizontal rolling mill. {In manyrolling mills, such for example as socalled'fmerchant mills, it 'is a common practice to provide a horizontal roll stand comprising a pair oij horizontal rolls formed with a plurality of circumferential grooves and rotatably' supported in a roll housing. The'rolls areconnected by universal'coupling spindles tova pair of intermeshinghorizontal mill pinions which are rotatably supported in a pinion housing, one'of the pinions being driven by a suitable source of power. The rolls usually have flutedwabblers on their ends, and these wabblers fit within roll coupling boxes on the ends of the spindles. It is frequently necessary to change the rolls, which. involves the withdrawal of the wabblers from the coupling boxes and the insertion of the wabblers of the newly mounted rolls in the coupling boxes. This is ordinarily. a rather difficult and often dangerous task, largely because no suitable means is available to hold the coupling boxes in position during the roll-changing operation.

It is one object of the invention to provide a new and advantageous mechanism which will facilitate the changing of'rolls in a horizontal rolling mill. v I p I It is a further object of the-invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and thoroughly dependable apparatus to support the universal spindles in a horizontal rolling mill during roll changes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus which will support the roll coupling boxesofthe universal spindles in a horizontal rolling mill in such a manner as to facilitate the withdrawal of theroll wabblers from these boxes, and the insertion of roll wabblers therein, during roll changes.

With these and other objects in View, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in thespecification and coveredby the claims appended hereto. i

Referring to the'drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and in which like ref erence numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a horizontal;

rolling mill, with certain parts broken away for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 2' is. a section taken on the line of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of on the adjacent end of the base II and having Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the mill pinion housing; 7 Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of part of a coupling box; I I Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing a spindle supporting device in use; and I Fig. 8 is a view taken as indicated by the'line 8-8 of-Fig. 7. y The embodiment illustrated comprises a formdation {0 of concrete or other suitable material which serves to support a horizontally elongated metal base ll. anelevated platform I2 adjacent 'one'e'nd, and two spaced parallel horizontalrails U! which "ex-'- tend from the other end of the basetowa'rd'the' platform. A pinion housing 1-5 is mounted on a fixed position on the platform l2, and the' two upright housings [6 of a horizontal rollstand'll are slidably supported on the'rails Hi. This roll stand comprises a pair of grooved horizontal rolls I9, with fluted wabblers 20 onthe ends. of the rollnecks, and the usual screw-downs Z I' at the tops of the housings. 'The housing feet are"re+ leasably clamped to the rails M by means ofv suitable bolts 23 which may be tightened by wedges 24 extending through slots in the upper portions of the bolts in known manner.

The roll stand I! may be moved along the rails l4 by means of a fluid actuated motor mounted a reciprocable piston rod 21 which extends horizontally between the rails. On the endofthis rod there is mounted a fork 28 which is connected by a pin 29 to a bracket'30 secured to' the bottom of one housing I6. The motor 26. may be, controlled manually by anysuitable four-way valve (not shown) in a well known manner.

The pinion housing l5 serves to enclose .two intermeshing horizontal mill pinions '32 (Figs. 4 and 5), which may be of the double helical or herringbone type. The end portions of the pinions are rotatably mounted in bearings 33 supported by the housing. Each of the pinions 32 is provided with a central longitudinal bore 34. of noncircular cross section. As best shown in Fig. 5, these bores are preferably shaped'to provide a plurality of grooves or flutes 35. The

lower pinion 32 is driven by a spindle .31 having .the'shaftof an electric motor' llL. A circular plate 42 is secured to the outer end of the'u'pper This base is shaped to provide a coupling head 49 keyed to one end of a, spindle 50. On the other end of the spindle; there is keyed a similar toothed couplinghead located within a coupling box 53, this boxhavinginternal,

gear teeth engaging the external teeth of the coupling head. Each box 53 is provided witha sleeve portion 54 which extends over the corresponding wabbler 20 and interflts in known manher with the flutes thereof. Screws 55 releasably securerth'e sleeves '54 to the wabblers. Each box 53 further includesan end plate 5.1 which projects slightly beyond the peripheral surface of the sleeve 54 to provide a shoulder. heads: 49 and :5] are preferably made with, a spherical pitch surface, as fully disclosed in the patent. to ,Myles Morgan No. 2,136,947., granted November 15., 1938. Consequently each spindle 50 its-universally connected at its ends to the corresponding coupling boxes 45 and 53 so that vertical adjustments of the rolls 19 may be made without interference with the roll driving mechanism. Anannular seal 60 is mounted on the inner end :of each pinion 32 insurroundingrelation to the corresponding spindle 53, these seals aidingiinthe retention of lubricant and. the exclusionof dirt. p

In order tofacilitate roll-changes, provision is made whereby thecoupling boxes 53 may be supported while theroll wabblers 20 are withdrawn therefrom. li or this purpose a frame 62 'is mounted on .the platform [2 close to the front end of thepinionhousing 15, i. e. the end toward the roll-stand .l 'l. Thisframe 62 is preferably of welded construction and comprises .two pairs of uprights 63 located on opposite sides of the spindles 50. Each .pair of uprights 63 is connected by two vertically spaced horizontal bars 64 with their ends welded or otherwise secured within holes in the uprights. These bars are arranged to b'eenga'ged by thesupporting hooks lifi'oftwo chain-sling, ratchet hoists 6'! ('Fi'gsJ'? and .8 ofa well known construction, each hoist having an operating handle 68. The hoists. 61 are arranged to extend beneath the coupling boxes 53 wheii'the 'boxes are moved close to the pinion housing I5. One of the rear uprights .63 is .provided with two vertically spaced guides each of which supports a manuallyslidable latch 1! having a handle '12. These latches may be moved inwardly to engage the edges of the. end plates '51 of the coupling boxes and hold these boxesagainst axial movements as the wabblers are withdrawn or inserted.

As'shown in Fig.1, a horizontal guide trough'15 may be mounted above the drive spindle 31'and close to the rea'r end of the pinion housing 15. This "is feasible for the reason that the pinion "housing is supported in a fixed position. It will be understood that the trough 75 may direct an appro'achinghot metal bar into the usual repeater (not shown) which 'in turn directs the bar into the rolls l9.

.The operation of the invention will now heap- Jiare'nt'from the above disclosure. Thev motor 411 The teeth on the will drive the lower pinion 32 through the medium of the coupling 39 and the spindle 31, and the pinions 32 will drive the respective rolls l9 through the medium of the coupling boxes 45, the spindles 50, and the coupling boxes 53. The universal connections between the spindle heads 49 and-5| and the coupling boxes45 and :53-respec- 'tively will accommodate the required vertical adjustments of the rolls I 9. When it becomes necessary to employ a, different set of roll grooves, the bolt wedges 24 will be loosened, the roll stand I! will be moved along the rails l4 by the fluid motor 26 to the desired position, and the wedges 24 will then be tightened. During this movementof itheitoll stand, the coupling boxes 45 will slide axially within the pinion bores 34, and the pinion housing IE will remain fixed in position. When the rolls have to be changed, the roll stand I .1 will first be moved rearwardly far enough to permit the latches H to be moved inwardly into engagement withthe edgesofthe. plates51 of the coupling boxes 53. as shown in Figs. '7 and v8. Thehoists 6.1 will then be. hung in positionbes. neath the coupling .boxes and tightened by means of the h'andlesfiland the screws 55. will heloo'sened or removed. Thereupon the roll stand will be moved forwardly again, thus withdrawing the wabblers 20 from the coupling boxesgso thatlthe rolls may then be changed in the .usualmanner. To connect the vnewrolls to the driving mechani'sm this procedure will be reversed. I v

It willbe apparent that thelinveritionis,ofgreat assistance during roll changes, andthatitreduce's the danger. to the-Operator. Having thus described ourinvention. what we claim as new and desire to secure. by Letters, Patent is: v I 1. A support for. the. roll coupling .boxesIo'fv a horizontal .rolling mill, .comprisingaframe. having two horizontally spaced uprightmembers adapted to receive the coupling :boxes between them,=and two sling hoists located one above theuother and extending across from one upright member to the other in the form of- U-shaped loops adaptedto carry the weight of the coupling boxes during roll changes in themill. I

V .2. A support-as set forth ii -claim l, in which manuallyoperablelatches are mounted onthe frame and adapted to engage the couplingibox es and preventaxialmovement thereof. r 1

3. .Asupport as set forth 'inclaim 1, in which each sling hoist includes a manually operable handle arranged to vary the size-of the loop as desired. I

' MQIFLGIAN.v

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recorddnthe file of this patent:

UNITED sTA'rEs-PA'rE -rs Date I Name 287,008 "Daniels Oct. 23,1883

661,470 Fawell et.al.n Nov. 6, 1900 1,184,003 Miller May 23,1916 1,962,581 Carroll June12,119.34 2,011,686 Mikaelson et .al. ..Aug. 20,1935 2,136,947 'Morgan Nov. 15., 11.938 2,184,463 -Morg'an neezd'isss 2,363,378 Young Nov.1'2 l,1944 2,430,683 

